Pennsylvania 2020 election results: why all eyes are on Biden’s home state

A cardboard cutout of Scranton's own Joe Biden is seen in a local convenience shop

Credit: ERIC BARADAT /AFP

The traditional support base for the Democrats in the state has been blue-collar, working-class voters. Mr Biden comes from a working-class background and he hopes that this will endear him to the voters who abandoned the party for Mr Trump in 2016. 

Follow live 2020 US election results here.

What happened in 2016?

Pennsylvania was the scene of an improbable Donald Trump win over Hillary Clinton in 2016. The state had voted Democrat every year since 1992 until that point. 

Mr Trump staged a stunning comeback. He was trailing by six points just a few days prior to the election, yet somehow swung things in his favour.

Trump voter base 2016 v Clinton

Mr Trump won by the narrowest of margins in 2016 — just 0.7 per cent ahead of Hillary Clinton. 

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